Thick end of wedge for Wensleydale Creamery’s larder

THE Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes has once again made its mark at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

The creamery enjoyed success at the Cheese & Dairy Show, winning nine awards and two “best in show” trophies for a variety of its cheeses.

Among the honours it garnered were the Wensleydale Cup for Best Wensleydale Cheese; a trophy for Best Blue Cheese in Show for Jervaulx Blue; and one gold, two silver and one bronze for the Real Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Wensleydale Creamery’s managing director, David Hartley, said: “To win so many medals and two ‘best in show’ trophies is testament to the expertise of our master cheese makers who create a range of superb cheese.

“It also reflects the quality of the ingredients we use. This includes the milk for our Real Yorkshire Wensleydale being supplied by a network of Dales family-run farms where the cows graze limestone meadows, which contributes to its special taste.

“We are especially proud to be bringing the cup for the best Wensleydale cheese to its ancestral home. It is where Wensleydale cheese originated and today our Real Yorkshire Wensleydale is the only Wensleydale cheese still actually made in the dale.”

The Cheese and Dairy Show has significantly grown in stature since its launch 10 years ago and now boasts more than 800 entries compared with just 300 when it started.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This year consumers have been drafted into the judging process, with visitors able to offer opinions on cheese, chilled product and ice cream classes.

Also enjoying success was High Street giant Marks & Spencer which won the Champion Retailer Award for excellence in its range of cheeses,

M&S picked up the only award category dedicated to High Street retailers.

The chain’s technical manager, Sue Bell, said: “We’re thrilled to have won the Champion Retailer Award at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show, which acknowledges how closely we work with our producers in order to introduce new and exciting cheeses for our customers to enjoy.”

Waitrose, Tesco and Asda were among those shortlisted.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Produce including cheese, milk, butter, ice-cream and yoghurt was considered across different retail award categories including Best Yoghurt and Best Butter as well as more specific categories including Best Dairy Product with Added Flavour.

Related topics: